When the swelling hadn’t gone down after her baby was born, she went to see her GP.

Part of Dee’s thyroid was removed as a precaution at Heartlands Hospital, but tests showed the tissue was cancerous.

More surgery followed and, more than a year since she first noticed the lump, Dee began treatment with radioactive iodine - a process that meant little Dhiya and husband Jatinder could not go near her.

“Basically, I was radioactive so Dhiya had to go and stay with my mum,” explains Dee.

“It was really distressing – I just cried all the way to the hospital.

Dee Paul (front) with sister Kiran Sangha and Dee's daughter Dhiya

“For the first two days I was in total isolation. The nurses just pushed a plate of food through the door because I couldn’t have any human contact.

“They were the longest days of my life.”

Dee began feeling better and was looking forward to her brother’s wedding when Kiran, then aged 22, began to feel unwell.